Justice as Healing in a Small Australian Town

Source: (1998) Justice as Healing 3 (2).

The author recounts a case of vandalism by young Aboriginal boys in a small Australian town with a significant Aboriginal population and a nearby Aboriginal reservation. The police responded by conducting a Community Conference involving the young offenders, families of the offenders, and many of the women who used the vandalized building (which belonged to an established, nationwide association of rural women). The boys acknowledged what they had done, the women explained the impact of the harm, and a plan was devised for the boys and others to repair the building, thereby beginning a process of repairing the personal and relational harm done.